Mayday Plays - Ghost-fi || Evony Bellfaonte: The Train to Hathor

Episode Date: October 19, 2024

oin Candace and Eli as we say goodbye to Evony Bellafonte About Candace: Candace the Magnificent (they/she) is an award-winning TTRPG performer, game writer, and actor. As a Black, queer, NB, and disabled person, they’re passionate about diversity & representation in gaming, and strive to tell stories any audience can connect with. Find their work on Chaotic Wholesome, 12 Sided Stories, Bloom & Blight, 3 Black Halflings, the upcoming Frequencies, FableScraps, and more. Be sure to follow Candace: https://linktr.ee/candacethemagnificent 👕 MERCH: http://ko-fi.com/maydayrp & https://mayday-merch.printify.me/products 💵 Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/maydayrp 📰 Join our newsletter: eepurl.com/iIVUjo 📚 Buy Ghost-fi: https://aghostofeli.gumroad.com/l/Ghostfi 🎙 Listen to us: 🟣 Apple Podcasts : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mayd…ys/id1537347277 🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5vdTgXoqpSpMssSP9Vka3Z?si=97a6a19d71cf4be0 🟠 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mayday-roleplay 🌟 Other Socials 🌟 🐦 Twitter: http://twitter.com/maydayroleplay 📸 Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/maydayrp/ 🔴 Website: http://maydayroleplay.com/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maydayroleplay 👾 Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/maydayroleplay 🔵 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maydayrp Thanks for your support!

Hello, and welcome to Mayday Roleplay. Thank you for joining us as we come together to tell stories of ghosts. Beloved characters created by their storytellers who have met their final chapters, we here come to bear witness to last impressions and learn to say goodbye. This is the game Ghostfy.

But before we turn our next page, some housekeeping is in order. We'd like to thank our handler-level patron contributors. Their involvement allows us here at Mayday to continue to produce and tell stories for your viewing pleasure. So thank you to Advance Wars Sammies, OGPen, Bimblewart, Cameron S, Kirby's Double, Moria, Jonathan M, and Ren. If you too would like to contribute to May Day, be sure to find us on Patreon. You'll get access to early releases, art, bi-monthly games run by May Day, and our Discord server built around our wonderful community there. And expect VOD-OD exclusive runs of Ghostfy by May Day members and a campaign diary in the near future. If you haven't heard, we have completed our third season of our Delta Green series, Doomed to Repeat,

which is now available along with our extensive catalog of completed seasons and shows on our YouTube channel for VODs or anywhere you get your podcasts for audio-friendly versions. Be sure to join us bi-weekly for our livestream of our Vampire the Masquerade campaign, Vegas by Night. And always follow us on all major social media platforms and our websites for updates on future content and other news. We would like to thank the wonderful guests who have come to tell stories with us. Top tier creatives in actual play and the TTRPG scene, gifted storytellers and their

beloved characters. Be sure to follow the amazing work they do in the description listed. Ghost Spy is a game about death and grief and the complicated lives of complex characters. This actual play is intended for mature audiences. Please take care of yourself and be aware. Our players are under the guidance of safety tools, and X-Card can be employed at any time. And with that, let us begin. So And And now, let's take a moment to introduce our cast today.

Hi, my name is Candice, also known as Candice the Magnificent. My pronouns are they she, and today I am here bringing Evinnie Bella-Fonte whose pronouns are she her. And my name is Eli. I go by any and all pronouns and today I will be your guide. There's something about ending a journey and beginning another, where at the end of that journey, you know that there is someone waiting for you, someone who expects you. But in order to get to a final destination,

one has to first take, one has to take those first steps. And that is the case here for Ebony. And whatever those final moments Ebony had in their time in the living, fade away. And it fades into a sense of nothingness. No feeling, no sight, no sound, nothing. But as we all come to know that there can always be something that comes from nothing. And as Evany regains a bit of sense of around them, they enter what is known as the Manifestation, a middle ground between the place before and the place that might come next. But it is a place purely built in their own image. So for you, for Ebony, what is a location, a place that kind of holds dear to them, where they might find themselves returning to when these final moments begin.

I think for Eboni, the place that brings her the most peace and comfort is her house. She was able to buy not quite a mansion. It's not as lavish as a lot of the A-list stars of the 1950s, something that she would have really enjoyed having something really big and palatial. It's definitely more modest in the silver like kind of community in LA. So definitely not a slouch, not a ranch style home, very, very like 40s, 50s in design. There's like big Palm Springs looking letters on the outside and numbers to mark her home. Inside is very dated. It's very symbolic of the time. This house actually is one that she ended up losing and never getting to see again after a fight to try and save the world.

An earthquake came, point zero, kind of right there on her home, and she lost everything at one point in her life. So opening her eyes and seeing it again I think is something that fills her with an intense amount of peace and joy. It's all very interesting inside 1950s architecture and 1950s furniture. There's a chaise long in every room including her bathroom that is oversized. She has a huge vanity in her bedroom against one wall, a big nice four-poster king-sized bed also in there for herself. It's

clear this person has designed this home to live alone. The only kind of hints that you get that maybe someone else lives there is a servant's entrance to the side back of the home for all of her like paid butlers and maids and people like that. And then there's kind of a scattered dog accoutrement for her little her little Yorkie that you can see kind of all over the place. for her little her little Yorkie that you can see kind of all over the place. Wonderful. And take a moment to kind of describe to us what Ebony looks like here in this space now that this construct of home has has come into into view. What are what are they what do they look like as they kind of traverse a familiar place? I think if the camera were looking at like the front door as Evany walks in, you see a not too tall, not too short kind of average height, slimmer build, older woman, probably in her 60s. Definitely looks like maybe a frail, a more frail

build, but the squaring of those shoulders and the set of her jaw show that she is an absolute pill and someone who is not to be messed with. She wears large kind of cat-eye sunglasses that are like oversized on her face and has a big wide brimmed hat that's made of black, like rattan kind of material that's woven. She has a pencil dress on that's split in like a diagonal across the bias that has different colored buttons on either side. So the black side has white buttons, the white side has black buttons. And it has a very kind of sharp kind of off the shoulder look that kind of ends in like a really fancy point. Very kind of edgy 50s fashion. Cuban heel stockings with like a nice like peak of a toe coming out of her high heels. Bright red lipstick, the perfect shade for her medium brown skin. They have, she has natural hair

that is kinky curly in texture, but it's long and kind of tied up in like a little bit of a, not quite victory curls on top, more smooth on top, but in the back kind of like that victory curl underneath that kind of goes around the back of the neck and around the nape. And I think like as she moves through the space, she very slowly starts to go back to the age that she was the last time she was at this house. So by the time she gets to like her bedroom in the back of this kind of one story home, she looks like she's probably about 40, maybe 45. An older 40, 45, really not what we know today as 40 or 45, which looks very young, but like a 50s 40, which is like an older lady. But very elegant, like very elegant. She takes very sure steps on the pink kind of fuzzy carpet that's in there. The pile is very nice and fancy despite it being kind of a tacky

color. All of her fixtures are pink in the house. And she has like nice chandeliers in each room, modest ones, like not huge, gigantic ones, because the house is not very big, but pretty enough and sparkly enough that she feels almost as effervescence being back in her old quarters. There's something about returning home that is very comfortable. And home is a place where one gets to express themselves, I think, the most than what they present themselves in the outer world. It's a place where you expend the vastness of your creativity and taste even, as can be seen by the way that Ebony has constructed and designed this home for them. Even so that when it was lost, that it wasn't ever quite rebuilt again in the next place that Ebony started again when it was gone.

And as Ebony kind of continues to walk towards that back of the house, there is no one here as mentioned. This is a house meant for you, a space only for Ebony. But even though one finds themselves alone in this moment, in this space, are you truly really alone? And as Evany kind of pushes the door open to their bedroom, there's a sensation in that moment that something is with you. Something is occupying the same location with you. And as you push that door all the way open, sitting on your bed is a companion. If you could, for a brief moment, explain to us who you see that who is here with you on this journey, who will be walking the walk with you per se and sitting on that bed

with you, per se, and sitting on that bed with you. I think the moment that Evany kind of touches the door and feels a presence, she stops dead in her tracks. She has been she has borne witness to all manner of supernatural horrors. And for a second is like, this could be literally anyone here to wreak havoc on my ideal. here to wreak havoc on my idyll. And I'm hoping it's somebody good. When she opens the door, I think she just kind of shrieks into light and rushes and falls on the bed. There in the middle of all of these beautiful kind of satin bed sheets and pillowcases and duvet covers, etc. is Buttercup, her Yorkie. Little kind of teacup dog, very small, very petite, big, big bright eyes and a very kind of happy smile. Has like a little collar around its neck that clearly is very expensive, has some gemstones and things in it. And the little tag at the bottom says Buttercup in a little script etching. The paws are

tiny, the ears are tiny, the tail is tiny. It's just a cute little creature, a little ball of fur. And I think she goes to like scoop Buttercup into her arms. But as she does is like, kind of looking at it like, are you, are you my Buttercup? And I think she addresses Buttercup. Oh, Buttercup, it's so lovely to be reunited with you. Why are you here to bring me somewhere? Are we going somewhere, Buttercup? Anywhere new, anywhere fun? I think at that moment, Buttercup, as you scoop them into your arms, as you bring them close and embrace a pet who seems to be very excited to see you, who snuggles up against you, who you can feel just the bits of your finger kind of nestling into their fur, and you can feel that sensation of comfort that our companions

give to us in that moment. And as you whisper those words to Buttercup about where we're heading next, are you here to show me something? Are you here to join me on this? There's something in the way that Buttercup looks at you with those bright little tiny eyes that seem to express a level of understanding beyond your comprehension, a level of empathy, a level of knowing more than what you expect. But all they do is maybe yip gently, maybe give you a soft lick, and remain with you in just these couple seconds, enjoying the comforts of you. And I think that's a great time for us to begin to move on into looking at some

of our tethers. So for you, if you could, draw me a card. Ten of diamonds. Ten of diamonds. Wonderful. Diamonds are locations. And the ten of diamonds is a dark and scary place. So as Buttercup finishes that last bit of nuzzling and embrace. They wiggle themselves out of your arms and they go towards the bedroom door and they begin to walk out and down the hallway away from you.

And if you were to follow, things start to change here in your manifestation. The familiar space of this beautiful home that was made by your design is replaced by a dark and scary place. And if you could describe me what that dark and scary place might be for you as you cross through that threshold of that door. We'll see where it takes us. I think the dark and scary place, ironically, is a place that when she first ever went there gave her a lot of pride and joy. It is the studio of Cut'em Films, one of the last places that she worked before retiring from the industry. She felt

horrible going to those places. The upstairs was made for kind of more seedy photography and video for people who really, really needed the cash and didn't really care like of what their future held as far as the production work that they were doing. She had way too many run ins with, you know, people who were would stop at nothing other actors and actresses who would stop at nothing to get to the top. Backroom dealings walking in on her director making a deal with the mob to add screen time to certain certain like themes and elements that would further the acceptance of their kind of money laundering and goings on and dealings and things like that. And just like a generally miserable place, she was able to get out of there making money and earning what she has. But at the same time, a lot of the time that she spent there, she felt very compromised

and without any kind of recourse as far as her career was concerned, especially the older that she got and the fewer studios were calling. So I think for her, that was also the first place that she sort of experienced the supernatural as well. She had a terrifying vision right there on the floor of the soundstage, thinking about the themes of like war and violence and attacked a fellow actor. And it led to a lot of scandal in her life for a while where people were saying terrible things

about her mental state and whether or not she was too old to continue on in movies. So I think there are a lot of dark elements and memories there, especially when she thinks of like the more supernatural things that happened, meeting the God of War and having him kind of try to intimidate her and her companions into doing the wrong thing so that he could go home, essentially. Awesome. Will me a d4. 4.

4. Awesome. So 4 is an absolute success. You will automatically add a point to your progress and if you hold any spite, you're able to remove it. But since this is the beginning of our journey, there's no spite to get rid of. Okay. But what does success look like for you when confronting a dark and scary place, especially one that is so riddled with history? How does one make peace essentially with with a place? How does one let go of

it? What does that look like for for Ebony? I think for Ebony, it looks like her kind of standing her ground. I think when Buttercup first has them enter has her enter this room, that kind of cold hopelessness that she used to feel coming to work, starts to kind of enter her for the first time in a very long time. And she's shocked at how familiar the sensation is. And while unwelcome, how quickly it kind of takes root inside of her. Like it's like seeing an old friend that you really don't want to talk to, but they're like walking up to you and you kind of can't get away. It's that kind of feeling where

you know that you're going to have to face this. There's no way out. And I think as she explores and goes to the places where the first time someone ever told her that she needed to die it, if she really wanted to be a star, right? The casting call couch where she slapped someone and ran out. The trailer that wasn't really a trailer. it was kind of like a cubicle somebody set up with plants and, you know, folding screens to give her some semblance of privacy because she threatened to walk off the set. Places where you know, she cried herself to sleep. I think she visits each of these places inside of this room. It's not easy. It takes some time for her to go from spot to spot.

And I think as she sits down and tries to relive those memories, she does so with the knowledge that all of that was temporary. She was able to get herself out. She was able to get other people out and get them better deals and help people move on into bigger and better careers. She was able to effect change at the studio so that they treated their actors a little bit better after she left. There were things that she was able to do and I think she's able to kind of confront each of these locations with that knowledge that this isn't forever.

The first time was terrifying because she didn't know when it was going to end, if that was just going to be the rest of her life there. You know, Hollywood is littered with, you know, flamed out divas and actors who thought that they were better than they really were, or people who are blacklisted for, you know, saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. And I think for her at that time, every day was a risk. But now realizing that she has this entire story behind her, she found confidence and courage

that she never thought that she'd ever be able to access in herself as a person. And a strength that laid not in how beautiful she was, but in the talents that she had as a person and as a support for other people. Which for her was a struggle, wanting to be that leading lady. I think she's able, she's finally able to like get to the very last I think she's able she's finally able to like get to the very last area of this room and just literally say goodbye. Show business is a ruthless thing. And it takes a certain kind of person to be able to find strength in it. And it also takes a lot of experience. And there's always going to be those ups and those downs, those thrills, those chills and everything in between. And enduring such a life or such a business, if you're not able to progress along with it, surely you'll find yourself drowning.

But that's not the case for Ebony. And as you visit those key places, as you kind of filter through these moments where one had to find a backbone, one had to find a voice, one had to take a risk. You, through that, found your strong footing in it. And by the time you reach that final moment where you're sitting on an empty studio stage and even it feels like the lights are coming down around you. You take that moment to kind of expand yourself and look around the entire room and realize that through the good times and the bad times, I still got here.

And it was through my own ability and strength, and I'm all for the better for it. And as those final lights seem to come down and the show seems to end, you're content with the way things shook out in the end. And as that final light kind of dims itself down, and as the lights come back on in the living room of your home, there's a sensation of lightness that comes to you. That even walking through a scary place, you can find the light at the end of it. And it's not as scary as you thought

it was going to be. And now, sitting in one of those chairs that you've so beautifully selected for your living room space. So does Buttercup sit in that chair looking at you with a level of understanding beyond your comprehension, a level of openness and empathy that maybe even a companion openness and empathy that maybe even a companion gives more, essentially. And they sit there waiting for you. And with that, let's pick our next card. Seven of Clubs. Seven of Clubs. Seven of Clubs. Seven of Clubs are self cards, which describes a personal affliction. The seven of cards here represents a time when you went against a personal stance. So what does that personal stance look like for you?

for you? I think that might be the day that Evany decided to fight fire with fire. Before she knew that there was kind of eldritch beings kind of meddling in the world. When things seemed more mundane. She was out one evening, having a drink alone at her favorite bar. There are places that you go in Hollywood to be seen. And there are places you go to disappear. And the place that she went to was one to disappear that night. She had had her umpteenth rejection after being, you know, after thinking that she was up for consideration for a big fancy part and finding out that some brand new ingenue right off of a bus was actually the person that they were going to give it to and she was hired as a mother, potentially a grandmother. She kind of had just had it. It was a day that was not what she expected. Evany, I think, throughout her career just kind of kept waiting for her ship to come in. Knew eventually she'd get that big break, right?

The big moment where, you know, you're on the cover of every magazine in a good way. And not for scandal. Where you know, everybody is going to be calling her phone number and you know, she's going to have to be swatting them away. She waited a long time for that to come. And that day when she walked into that office ready to sign her, you know, multi-picture deal, and instead was met with, you know, we only need you for half the time because your role isn't really as big as we thought. I think she just kind of, something in her just sort of broke. And that night she went out to like a little hole in the wall, a bar that she used to visit when she first arrived in Los Angeles. And it's a place that's always known her since she was much younger, since she was in silent films. A place that has an understanding for queer people. She brought dates there before clandestinely, since it wasn't yet appropriate necessarily to be out at that time. But that night

she goes alone and other stars of color that, you know, are looking for kind of a more downbeat and comforting, you know, social experience tend to frequent this place. She walked in got her usual table like she always does they kind of hold it for her. And she ran into Patty Wells, who is somebody that she used to be in competition with as a young person, they kind of came up around the same time, were competing for roles a lot. And she noticed that Patty looked outstandingly young,

just beautiful and fresh as like a morning flower, like just absolutely gorgeous. And something inside of her just twisted. Ebony was raised in a family of people who believed in working hard and trying your best. She was instilled with clear principles when she was a child. She was raised with a fairly firm hand, but very loving. And trying to mess with other people to secure a better place for herself was not something that's ever really crossed her mind. She always tried to fight a little more fair. But something that night just, it just kind of snapped a little bit. And

she went against that. She stole kind of a glance over at this person, exchanged words with her. She gave her some of the creams and etc. the skincare regimen that she was using so that Evany could try and take it further, but ended up leaving one very critical piece of that puzzle out, which resulted in Evany losing a lot of that luster and a lot of that beauty and grace that she still had despite being older, rather than improving her looks. And she threw her under the bus. She wrote a strongly worded letter to the head of the company, rang them up on the phone, insisted that she get seen and told the people that were in charge that this person did this to me. This person, you know, has put a bad taste in my mouth from your product. And I, you know, I wouldn't want to say anything because I don't want her to get in trouble or anything. But, you know, it was really just like not a good look and complained, knowing that she was a little rude. She could have been nicer. Patty was not unprovoked in doing this to her. And for the first time she finds herself kind of

handing over her standards in exchange for the betterment of herself in her career. It instantly felt bad for Evany, but she was convinced that it was her or me, basically. And that kind of set off a chain of events that put her in an even worse situation than she originally went in with. Ebony is not someone who feels a lot of shame. She is a diva through and through, too much in every way, some good and some bad. But I think that day, she found herself even sick of herself for the first time ever. And by the time she realized she should do something about it, it resulted in the murder of Patty Wells. What made that d4? 2.

2. So 2 is a partial failure. Your actions fail, but nothing gets worse. So let's start with what this failure looks like to you. And then you feel about it? And how what about do breaking that moral standard, doing something that is out of character and resulting in not only the death of somebody else, but the death of that sense of morality that Evany held for themselves in their career. What does that look like to them? I think at that point in Evany's life, innocence was kind of long gone. I feel like that's one of the first things that she had to kind of tuck away into a box in this very kind of fast paced and morally ambiguous industry that

she found herself in, that she was dying to break into. There was a lot that she kind of had to part with about herself, smaller things that kind of chipped away at who she used to be and the girl she left behind on the East Coast. But I think that that day, she found herself at a low point. It was in stark contrast to how she looked. When she went and talked to these people, they gave her the full treatment. She was able to soak in their spa. She was able to get massages and treatments and oilings and, you know, toes done and, you know, the full pampering experience. It should have been a day that

was blissful and relaxing. She was told that these people had been trying to get her into their club, their exclusive club, for years, that they'd had their eye on her, right? For the first time ever in the last decade of her career, she's hearing that someone wanted her, right? All of these wonderful things being done and being said to her, just kind of failing to soak any of it up, knowing in the back of her mind that there might be another shoe that's going to drop. And I think she kind of flashes back to the day when she went to the crime scene to investigate. Pattywell's body wasn't there, but the blood was everywhere.

And as she kind of tried to keep from touching everything, she still felt like the blood was on her hands. There felt like there was a ghost in that home with her. She could hear the sound of like a heart beating, no matter how much she tried to ignore it. Even putting her hands over her ears, she could still kind of hear it ringing around her. And I think like the, I think the last shreds of that girl from the East Coast, right? That person from New Jersey that was bright eyed and bushy-tailed that did, you know, community theater and school plays. That little piece of herself that she still kind of keeps tucked away in that box just kept screaming to get out, just disgusted with what she'd done and knowing that the horror in front of her was a direct result of her actions because she

couldn't just be enough for herself. And I think that's the first time that she really feels shame. Roll me another d4. Four. Four. So you rolled an even. So no progress will be made. But spite grows The... the... the... the... Desire is something that many of us see. And for those who choose the glamorous life of show business. Desire is not only, is a lot like a currency in a way. And we find that it's a currency that is not sustainable and that over time you get less of it as you go.

And sometimes even no matter how hard you work towards it, you are still losing in a way. And it makes us do things we never imagined we would. And it leaves just terrible stains not only on our hands but on our souls and it changes who we are and sometimes we wish that we could take things back when we understand what the ended result is. But sometimes the hardest reality of it all is that you can't take anything back. And if there was a way to try to make peace with it, maybe you can't, because the shame it outweighs it all and it leaves such a terrible burden that just doesn't seem to be lifted. And once there was kind of a bit of levity turns into a weight that kind of is felt in the pit of your stomach. Maybe there is a picture of Patty and you on a mantle somewhere or on a table beside you in your heyday when things life was better and everything was glamorous and beautiful. And as much as it would have been a beautiful reminder of a easier time, leaves nothing

more than anger, frustration, more shame, but it just in the back of your mind you just remember all the things that you chose to do and because of that someone that maybe you admired maybe even considered a friend in this business had their light cut short. And maybe they had a little bit more to offer the world, but they can't. And you're responsible for it. But Buttercup is there with you. Maybe redrawing your attention away from that photograph, looking at you again with eyes beyond understanding, a level of openness and empathy

that maybe even Buttercup in a previous time didn't possess, but is sharing there with you in that space. And with that, we'll look to drop our final card. Two of diamonds. Two of diamonds. All right. So as we've established, diamonds are locations. And the two of diamonds is a place that left you angry. I think a place that left Evboni angry was her childhood bedroom. I think as she kind of sits with Buttercup and thinks about that place, she starts to kind of remember where she's from. There's a small town near

Asbury Park, Neptune, New Jersey. An otherworldly name for an otherworldly person is how she used to kind of think of it when she was younger. She made her own vanity in her room from tin foil that she had kind of co-opted from the kitchen and like light bulbs and various little things that she tinkered with to get them to look just so. She was never much of an artist, but she was able to kind of prop up the small kind of hand mirror that she kidnapped from her mom's nightstand and kind of tape it in place and put like little paper flowers and things like that all around it to make her herself feel as special as she hoped that she was. From a very young age, she would grow up, you know, reciting different plays. I used to practice Shakespeare in that mirror

for hours on end, listening to radio shows and kind of coming to bed and mimicking the actors and actresses that she heard there. It was something that she didn't think she'd ever lose passion for. And every day that she kind of grew a little older and had to think about what she would do next, where she was going to go. Her parents were intent on a good marriage. There were several young men that were interested. Her mom came from a kind of southern culture. So there was a cotillion that she was invited to, to, you know, be a debutante and come out. She was taught how to dance and how to say all the right things and how to lay a table and how to cook and all of this very practical, wifely kind of education. How to be prim and proper, sent away every summer to not just get out of her parents' hair and give them a little bit of a break. She had a wealthy aunt that would kind of foot the bill for her. Her summer education believed that she needed to be an

elevated person, marry well so that it would never be an issue. She'd never be hungry. She'd never lack for what she wanted or needed. But it just felt empty. Like it felt empty all the time. And I think the last summer that she spent in this bedroom, it's the final sight of the last time that she speaks to her family. Her brother, her older brother, up and married, moved on, had his own family, lived close to his wife's people. They saw him maybe once a year. He sort of would write occasionally or phone for important holidays, but not really just to talk. And her parents just had expectations. At school, she was popular. She had friends that didn't really feel friendly. Everybody was excited

to be a mom one day, everyone was excited to be a wife. People planning their weddings and, you know, junior homeroom class. She was like, why can't I go to college? I could study acting. I could perform. There's so much more out there for me. You know, I think I could make it big. I'm just as good. You know, you see all these other actors out there. I could do that. Josephine Baker, she's wonderful. I'm sure that I could open for Josephine. Have you seen me? I've practiced the banana

dance hundreds of times. I can shake a tail feather. I can clean up dressing rooms if I need to start somewhere. I can fix clothes. I know how to sew. Every step of the way, her parents think, oh, you know, our daughter is so good. She's so polite, so obedient, listens so well. Look at her learning all of the things we want her to. She's learning how to mend her husband's shirts and socks, learning how to cook for her children, learning how to keep house. But every single thing that Evany was learning was for her eventual move into stardom. Mending clothes means I don't need to pay someone to alter my costumes.

Learning how to cook means that if there's only a craft services job, other than being an understudy, I can still collect a paycheck that week. Learning how to, you know, take care of the house and the home means that if I need to work tech and props, I know how to clean up after the day is done. I can show that I am willing to do whatever work I need to do to get where I want to be and to live my goals. And I think that's what she references the final day that she's in that room. She's packed a bag. She has her suitcase that's full of things that she thinks she needs that ends up never being used. A soul picture of her family from when she was

younger and the days were better and things were more simple. And I think as her parents kind of enter this room, hearing her putting, you know, opening and closing the drawers, they follow her in there to continue their argument about a young man that she is meant to marry. They've definitely had some close calls. The previous summer was her last summer in her debutante classes, not just because she was finally presented and out, but also because she was caught kissing a fellow debutante behind the building. Much to her parents' shock and much to her parents' shock and, surprisingly, not disapproval, just asking her to exercise caution and trying to quickly marry her to someone of good standing in the community so that even if this tendency continued, she'd have the protection of marriage to hide behind. And I think she just, one

day she just, she's just done. One day she's done. She gets a letter back saying that she's gotten accepted into two of the four colleges she's applied for. Her parents refuse to make the time or the money to hear her out. Without being able to go and study. She believes that just moving is the best idea. She asks for money for a bus ticket, says she'll keep in touch. And they spend the next three hours screaming at each other, throwing things around. Being very...what she thinks at the time is being ashamed of her choices and refusing to understand where her passions are versus what they want for her. But she now, looking back on this, recognizes scared parents who know that their kid is going into a situation that she might not be able to get out of. Something that feels impossible, that is relatively impossible at that time. Not knowing what the next day is going to hold for her, not knowing if she'll always have enough to eat,

if she'll have a place to sleep. It is the city of dreams, but not every dream comes true. And they know enough about this world to know that it is rare for someone to find any kind of luck. Whereas they are offering her peace and comfort and certainty for the rest of her days. And all she can do is fight. All she can do is fight tooth and nail, claw her way out of her parents' home, out of that bedroom, leave everything behind. But as you look at this bedroom, there is like a small pink rug at the foot of the bed. There's pink cotton sheets and a cotton duvet cover. There's her homemade vanity. There's a stuffed animal of a dog on the bed. It's basically what she has as an adult, but a child version in this room. And it is laced with touches of you know, her mom chose the curtains and her father installed bars to make sure that no young men could sneak in in the middle of the night.

And right, like there's little touches of herself in here, but there's a lot of, you know, peeling wallpaper shows where, you know, her brother used to kind of reside in this room for a little while they've kind of covered it up to make her her own space. reside in this room for a little while. They've kind of covered it up to make her her own space. It doesn't feel like her. And all of the attempts that she's made to make it feel like her are all temporary. The flowers have started to fall away and crumple and crinkle. The aluminum foil has long since been torn from around the light bulbs that are all kind of dim now and don't shine or flicker quite the same. It's tarnished. And this fight and this battle to keep her in line and compliant is one that kind of just

is the final nail in that coffin. Rumi, a d4. That's a one. A one. A one is an absolute failure, which means that you will automatically add one to your failed progress, and you also gain spite. So what is that for Eboni here?

That this childhood bedroom, a place of passions and dreams that intersect the worry of parents who think that they're doing what's right for the responsibility that they take on as a parent to a child. And the bit of gap that kind of created in two sets of individuals looking towards a future. But what does that failure look like here for this space? I think Ebony kind of sees this moment kind of playing out again in front of her. But this time, she doesn't leave. She's already been here. She's already left at once. This time, it's a replay. And she watches her mom cry and sleep in this room for the next two weeks, until her father finally comes in and tells her, we've got to move on. The door shuts and time kind of fast forwards as she sees the door open. First year opens

maybe three or four times a month. Her mom or her dad comes in, they sit down, they look around, they pick up her items, her things she didn't take with her. Then the following year, a couple fewer times, until finally it's been maybe six or seven years. She's done her first picture. Everything is pretty much just as she left it. The makeshift kind of finery looking even shabbier than it did the last time that she saw it. No one has tried to fix this or dress it up in any way. But the room does change. There are clippings. There are photos. There are little pieces of ebony that the public gets to have that her parents have adopted and put into this room. It's a bit of a shrine to her. And I think seeing that weighs extremely heavily on her.

She went back for her parents' funerals. Her brother was ice cold. She had an entourage. She could afford a fancy car to drive her there. People felt she was making a show of things. Her outfit was too fancy for the people that she had left behind in that city. or the people that she had left behind in that city. She was judged and at the time it filled her with an overwhelming sense of anger. She had made this for herself.

She had bled and cried and suffered to get here. She felt justified in what she had. But I think seeing it now at the end of her life, knowing the love that she has kind of waiting for her, and seeing a love and an adoration that she didn't expect to find in her parents and in her family, a level of understanding that perhaps they didn't have the words to give her at the time. But she sees as the room crumbles, as movers come in and clear everything out, and as the house is sold. And I think she sits in there, in that empty room, for a little while, wondering while kind of wondering what could have been. When we hit that point in our lives where we have to go out on our own and to make something

of ourselves, we hope that it is always supported by our families and our loved ones. And there's always a bittersweetness where that is not always the case. When two different ideologies butt heads against each other and create such a riff that leaves so many gaps in between. And sometimes we're not always lucky to find ways to refill those gaps until it's too late. Until we return home to an empty house where everything that is left behind is the little bits that we try to hold on to. Whether it be newspaper clippings of watching someone succeed at a distance, seed at a distance or the removal of the familiarities of childhood, such as a bed and a desk and a dresser and pink wallpaper that

curls at the corners because it wasn't just quite put on just right or a pink fluffy rug that is just no longer there and it's just an empty room of what-ifs and the perception that others bring to it when they don't fully understand. And empty walls become just echoes of a coffin of so many different emotions. And maybe one gets the thought of, could I have gone back to that day where I packed up all of my things in that bag where the argument, we could have stopped the argument that being had before a door was opened and was slammed shut, never to really be reopened again in the same way. And all of these noises and all of these feelings just feel so loud in such an empty space. And it's hard to not allow it to break your heart in a way, that these things could have been different had we put aside some of these things that built that riff, that mending could have been a part of the journey, just as much as clawing for success could have been. So much as waiting for a child to come home

instead of reaching out to that child and saying the things we could have said that would have made we could have said that would have made the world of difference. And now we don't have those opportunities. And the dice have been rolled and the scene has ended. And all we're left with what could have been. And that's the additional heaviness that feels. Well, the first heaviness came from the stomach where guilt and shame was felt. This heaviness is felt in the heart where love sits and resides, where love that... sides, where love is reaching out for something that it can't be reached anymore. And it just brings such grief to the situation, to the gravity of it all, when looking back

at everything that has happened and has yet to happen. And your childhood space eventually fades back into your home. And sitting right at your feet is again Buttercup, who looks at you with eyes of understanding, who seems to feel a level of empathy and openness that maybe Buttercup from a past could not potentially reach. And now we've gotten to a point where we have drawn our three cards. We've looked at three tethers at three tethers of Ebony's life, and we're moving on to a new place, which is known as the Crossing. And Buttercup, who's sitting at your feet, starts making their way to the door. Maybe scratches it lightly to give you that familiar warning of, I need to be let outside, or where we're going is no longer here and we have somewhere else to be. And if you are to follow to Evany, when the door opens and we move to a new space and we enter this crossing, I have to

ask you, where... the crossing is usually depicted as a location where coming and going happens, such as bus stations, train stations, things like that, crossroads, forks in the roads, even portals even, like doors or entryways and things like that. If Ebony was going somewhere where they were diverting on a road essentially, what would that place look like? I think the place looks like a bus depot. It is not the fanciest. I think it's the same place that she found herself stepping off of the Greyhound bus the very first time that she landed in California. There was

absolutely not enough money in her pocket to fly, so she took the several days journey on this bus. It she also did not have enough money for a train or something a little bit more posh. The bus was a bit uncomfortable, but she was absolutely cushioned by the promise that she felt awaited her. The outside of this bus depot is dusty. It looks underwater. The plants are largely dead or hanging on by a thread in the heat from the LA sun. It feels like a transient place. There are people sleeping on benches, either because that is their temporary home or because they are waiting for their next opportunity to either find it, show itself or an opportunity to leave and maybe go back home where they came from. And I think the first time she ever stepped foot in this place, she couldn't see all of all of those little bits and pieces. She was afraid by being in a new place. I think she was nervous seeing people who were unhoused wondering for a moment, split second, what if that's me? But I think her excitement just kind

of carried her right over any of those worries or concerns. Now here, again, there's a certain amount of hopelessness that I think she sees now that she didn't before. And also an amount of thankfulness that that's not how her story ended, that she was able to find a soft landing. Her life was not easy. It wasn't easy before. She met demonic and eldritch creatures. It certainly was not after. But I think for the first time, she is able to really find the depth in appreciating a life well lived and the strength that she didn't really know she had that she was able to find. And I think looking around that place rather than being scared, And I think looking around that place rather than being scared, she feels really calm and kind of accepts it for what it is, a place people come when they are hoping that the next thing they do is going to be a little bit better than the last. Well, there's two ways we can go about handling this point in our story, in our journey. We can either reflect upon the results that we have gotten from our card pools, our tether

pools, or you can leave it a bit up to chance by taking those results and building dice pools and seeing which succeeds over the other and how that reflects in this moment where Ebony has to make a decision on moving on and letting go from this glamorous life that they have built for themselves or to remain here and taking a new journey, remaining in this particular space. So how do you think we want to look at this crossing through? Contested or by reflection? Hmm. I think... I think reflection.

Beautiful. I think she's at a place where rather than trying to fight this outcome, she wants to kind of meet it with acceptance. Okay. Very good. So in your three a mixed bag where one was not greater than the other was about equal, but left behind a sense of resentment, spite, anger, frustration, heartbreak. How does Ebony think about those things? And does it allow Ebony to let go of these things and bring themselves to a point to move on? Or what about that might make Evany make the choice to stay here in this middle ground between the life of the living and the next step, which is the beyond? Hmm. Hmm.

Evany has always been a very solitary person. Most of her journeys were taken on her own. Even the friendship or the frenemieship that she had with Patty Wells, it wasn't something that she could take comfort in. It was more something that was just a constant, something that was a part of her struggle, right? To find success. I think after the events that kind of led her to this moment, she found acceptance among a group of people that was so motley and random that she really didn't take it seriously at first. It took weeks of being kind of thrown together in this fight against evil to get her to a place where she could accept them, not just accept them as people, but also accept their care for her.

Care always felt suspicious if it wasn't romantic or sexual. Um, romantic, you know, care and love and sexual care and love. You more or less know what someone wants from you. With friendship, that could mean anything. And I think for Evany, it was always simpler to just not have to sort through all of that. It almost felt like the next leg in the race that she'd been running since the day she left home. And I think when she met those people, there was someone who she saw herself in and it started to kind of change how she understood herself to see someone else kind of

coming up behind her, walking a little bit in her shoes and struggling, struggling to adapt and change who they were enough to fit into the box required of you in that town in LA. And I think like as they kind of sit in this way station trying to decide which way to go, they get a little bit of a vision. Like out of the corner of their eye, they see a bus pull up and they see a young black woman step off of it. The bus is coming in from New Orleans. She's bright eyed, beautiful, beautiful girl, high cheekbones, gorgeous skin, hair, unpressed, just very natural in its natural state. Absolutely beautiful, very simple clothes. Clearly this is somebody that left a loving family, but perhaps a more provincial one rather than one that is glamorous in any kind of way. And I think as she recognizes how Imani looked the first time she met her, that very fresh, kind of just got here look that people in the city can

spot a mile away. She starts to really kind of think about her last moments with Imani. Her and Imani have kept in touch since Imani moved to another place, Los Angeles, chewed her up and spat her out. Despite Eboni trying to kind of assist and aid in her growth there, she left because of the best reasons. It was what was good for her. And I think the day that she counseled Imani and asked her to remember who she is and to stand firm in who she is and be proud of where she comes from instead of hiding those parts of herself, I think that was the day that Evany finally found some semblance of closure, this very kind of maternal instinct that she'd only really ever experienced dealing with Buttercup kind of took over her in a very

unexpected way. And she made a very real and very genuine connection with Imani. I think seeing her step off that bus and seeing the beginning of her story and knowing how that story ends allows her to kind of take a closer look at the beginning of her own story. How she left things behind, the regret that she has in not being able to say her final goodbyes to her parents. And I think in that moment, she realizes that while she wouldn't necessarily do it all again the exact same way, that because of the change that she was able to affect and because of the relationship that she was able to find in Belle, in Cass in Robbie and finally in Imani, that that like made it all worthwhile for her and that to say that she would regret that or to hold spite for that moment in her heart is a slap in the face of the gift that's been given to her, that's led her to having someone who actually cares for her that's waiting and that she owes it to not just herself, but to the people who helped

carry her to that point to find a way out and beyond. So, Eboni chooses to let go. Yeah. And Imani stands on that platform with all the hope of the future and with your experience, the knowledge of what happens and what comes next for them and seeking and finding solace in that. You notice that the bus has not departed just yet, but the doors open again on that bus. And you notice that there's a sign that's kind of on that bus and it says to Hawthorne. And you're in this moment where you're making that choice to move on, to leave where you're at, and to go somewhere else to the next point for someone who might be waiting for you. We reach our epilogue. And as Ebony has chosen to let go of the life that they once lived, the life that they built

for themselves from their own two hands, from the highest of highs to the lowest to lows and the eldritch horror that happened in between. Does Evany get on that bus? She does. I think it takes a while. It's not something that I think happens instantly. I don't think she sees that vision and just kind of pops up and gets on. I think there's a little bit of a war inside of her. Do I deserve this? Have I earned this? I've worked hard for both good and bad purposes.

And while, yes, I helped save the world, that's not something for which I really want credit. That's the least I could have done for all the other people that live here. And I think as she kind of tries to reflect on that, the love and support of the people who know her the best. Being able to form a bond of honesty and real talk with Robbie, someone who didn't really know enough to lie, even for Nicety's sake, and handed Ebony some really, really strong truths that she needed to hear, both extremely frank ones, but also really uplifting ones at the same time. Being able to meet Cass, somebody who was intensely private, finding out that there is a part of Cass that resonates with a part of Ebony, always trying to cover up a love that society isn't civilized enough yet to accept and welcome as much as heterosexual relationships. The pain, seeing that familiar

pain of having to deny who you are publicly and live a secret life privately that they both share. And then Belle, meeting Belle as equals for the first time. A tabloid journalist who was constantly an antagonizer in her life, scandal waiting around every corner, a bell is the person that you, that's the last person you want to see show up on your doorstep or in your studio or in your dressing room. And realizing that she's just as much of a person as Evany. She has a life and loves and heartbreaks and cares and woes and fears and bravery beyond anything that Evany ever realized that it took to do that job and do it well. And then of course, being able to have that mentorship with Imani that felt just as much like she was teaching someone as it did that she was

learning from them. I think as she goes through each of those people and what they mean to her, and how she's been able to find her way to her love, thinking of the gorgeous face of Hathor, and what it felt like the first time that she ever kissed her, ever wrapped her arms around her, what it felt like the first time she saw her standing in the rain, waiting for her to notice that a goddess wanted to speak with her. I think she finds herself finally light enough to stand up and take the first steps toward the open doors of the bus. Taking that pause and finding the strength to stand up, you head towards that bus and you you head towards that bus and you get on it in the same way as a young woman who had their whole future ahead of them, got on a bus and traveled seven days to a city in hopes to make something of themselves that was by their own choice and by their own designs. And the myriad of experience that was learned

and shaped and changed and built along the way as you take the nearest empty seat and sit down as the bus doors close and your companion, Buttercup, doors close and your companion buttercup jumps up on that chair next to you, gets into your lap and curls themselves up into a little ball, content and at peace with what is coming next. with what is coming next, you look ahead out that window in the same way you did when you were making your way. And while it can be daunting knowing the unknown is coming, you know that wherever this bus leads you towards,

wherever it stops, that it's going to reunite you with somebody who loves you, who understands you, who is waiting for you. And as the bus begins to roll off and you and Buttercup move on into the unknown, as this bus stop fades away as a home that you had loved so much fades away, as a childhood space fades away, as the studio lights come down and the scene has ended. You find that bit of peace and you learn to let go. And the bus continues on far away until it hits the horizon where it cannot be seen. And that is where we'll end our story today of Evany. Wonderful.

So good. Thank you so much. Candace. Choked up. Oh my goodness. Candace, thank you so much for coming today to bringing Ebony here to sharing bits about her that maybe no one has gotten an opportunity to see of them. Why don't you reintroduce yourself? Let everybody know where they could find you and tell us a little bit about some of the cool things that you continue to do in your in your day to day.

Of course. Yeah. Hello, everyone. I am so happy to be here on May Day. I have stand you guys for a long time. My name is Candace. You might have seen me on the internet as Candice the Magnificent. As I said before, my pronouns are the she. You can find me on Twitter and Blue Sky at thecandicemarie. And at Candice the Magnificent pretty much everywhere else. I'm a TTRPG performer. I think I have to start learning to brag. Someone yelled at me about this the other day. I'm an award-winning TTRPG performer. I am a writer and a voice actor. I can be heard on a variety of channels. I really love

kind of bopping all around the internet and working with different people. If you liked the story about Evany and you would like to hear what happened to her that caused such a great change in a very caused such a great change in a very grouchy and surly fancy lady. Please hit up 12 Sided Stories wherever you catch your pods. That show is called Otherworld Hollywood. It isn't any nominated podcast. It stars myself as Evany and has a wonderful cast, mostly queer. We are also a mostly BIPOC table as well for that production. I'm really proud of it. It's really good. And actually, Mayday's own Lev plays Robbie. So this episode is very much a love letter to Lev and to Wes and Michelle. Shout out to Sam Star and also Mac Bove, Strange Like That. All of them are fantastic creators.

I don't think that I could have made Eboni who she is without their patience and their trust. So, thank you so much to them. If you'd like to hear more of me, you can hear me in Partial Vale, which is a cosmic horror audio drama. Bloom and Blight, which is a Girl by Moonlight AP podcast that is all about magical girls trying to save the world. And you can also hear me in the upcoming podcast Frequencies, which is going to be a horror podcast put out by the people who do the Atomless. So keep your ears peeled.

Oh, and this is coming out in October. So you can also hear me as Hecate Hopewell in 3 Black Halflings new AP, The City of the Black Rose. H.O.S. City of the Black Rose, Herald of Shadows. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Candace, for coming here today. Thank you for having me. If you loved this game Ghost Spy, you should check it out. Links will be below to the Gumroad where you can purchase it. This was a game that I wrote in 2021 as a way to help players connect with their characters, especially in instances where loss happens in stories as a way to explore them one last time and find a way to say goodbye to them. So if that's something that might interest you and your future table be sure to check out the links

below to the Gumroad and you'll be able to get your own copy and see where a Tale of Ghosts might be able to take you. Thank you all for tuning in today. Appreciate you coming to bear witness to the life of Ebony. And be sure to come back for more Tales of Ghosts and a new guest and a new cast member who will tell their own story of their own beloved character. Till then, we'll see you next time and have a good one.